What is your lucky number?

Here is an interesting piece of numerologiical trivia: way back in year 2004, China Sichuan Airlines spent more than a quarter of a million yuan to purchase a telephone number. That is quite of pile of yuan (the highest denomination of yuan is 100). The executives were confident that travelers won't simply dial the number for flight times details, but felt that by dialing the number, it will also give the travelers a very special feeling of happiness.

Are you able to guess what that special telephone number is?

Numerological symbolism plays a key role in our society. For example, the Chinese believe that it it important not to schedule any important invitation on the 4th day of the month. The AMO may ask "why not?"

The is because the "four" and "death" are thought to be equivalents by the Japanese and Chinese. These two words are homonyms in Chinese. Both are pronounced as 'si'.

Namiki Yakuri Morning Glory

Buy a morning glory at Hop(e)Marketplace to brighten up your day.

Imagine one fine Sunday morning you wake up and look out the window, you see a beautiful pink flower open up, giving you the feeling that the flower is waving at you saying "Good morning Lee, a sunny day for you to get out of the house and do the ..."


As the names goes, morning glory, saucer-shaped flowers and vines which open only in the morning time. Morning glory, in the family convolulaceae contains at least 50 genera and more than 1000 species, is well known to be the best flowers to decorate the our fences and walls.

Guess Who I am? Part 2

New items added at Hope(e)Marketplace

Hello there, here is another masked picture.

Are you closer now to guess which pen is in there?

Click here for previous pictures.

Rumours, Rumours ... Marketplace is here

Finally, the marketplace is ready. We have posted a few items for your consideration. Do have a look when you visit us.

Many thanks to our readers and friends who provided us their valuable feedback.

You can click here, or the Hop(e) Marketplace picture on the top right corner.

Same, same but different ...

Pilot Custom 823, a pen that need no introduction. Well known for it unique filling system and ink level. Each Custom 823 is fitted with a vacuum filling system, thereby storing a large amount of ink. Its finely crafted 14kt gold nib is a true pleasure to write with, offering consistent flow every stroke of the word.


Pilot had repackage it Custom 823 clear demo fountain pen. Instead of just the pen and the standard box, the new package come with a 50ml Iroshizuku bottle ink.

And the price is also different. You pay for the pen, ink and box.

Hmmmm... What can I do with the box? Any recommendation?

Did you manage to guess which manufacturer pen is in the box which I posted on Oct 21, 2009?

More items added at Hop(e)Marketplace... check it out.

Guess Who I am?

New items added at Hope(e)Marketplace

A very beautify pen set landed on my lap yesterday afternoon. Are you able to guess which pen is it?


Here is a hint. A masked picture of the ink bottle that come with it?

S.T. Dupont - Shanghai 中国上海

Shanghai had always been a major city in the past. During the First Opium War, it was occupied by the British till the signing of the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which open it ports for international trade.

It then follow by the signing of the Treaty of the Bogus in 1843 and the Sino-American Treaty of Wangsia in 1844. It is the start of foreign nations achieve extraterritoriality on Chinese soil ...


... the start of the foreign concessions ... 2009 Shanghai is known as the Peral of the Orient, a city not only well know for it rich history, and collection of buildings and structures of various architectural styles, but also well know as the center of finance and trade in mainland China.

Rumours, Rumours ... Hello Kiity Fever

Takashimaya Singapore is having a Hello Kitty Sales at their basement one talking hall from now till Ocr 25th. Hello Kitty is 35 this year and the world is turning pink.

Sailor released two hello kitty pens for the domestic market, but our local retailors E&C and Fook Hing managed to bring them in for our Singapore Hello Kitty Fan.

Pelikan - KIRIN Limited Edition

A KIRIN landed on HOP(e)Marketplace.

It was said the wise of the old divided the sky into 28 constellations distributed over the 4 main cardinal points, with each point accommodating 7 stars in the shape of an animals. The leader choose the Dragon to take care of the East, Tiger to the West, Phoenix to the South and Xuan-Wu to the North.

What about KIRIN?

Inky ... my new medicine ... DeAtramentis

Recently, my relative helped us to purchase this new bottle of "medicine", which I hardly have the time to have take it. I am not sure how is it in the rest of the world, here in Singapore, when the kids are having their exam, all the parent (well almost all 99.99%), are all stress out doing theirs too ... I meant revising work with their little one.

When I first get the package hand carry from Japan to Singapore, I was very excited but the excitment slowly disappear when I reached home.

The label on the box say "Exclusive handmade ink with peach fragrances for fountain pens." When I smell it, it doesn't give me the peach frangrances. I double confirmed with my little one... Eeee... "Why the Japan medicine also smell the same as us. Shouldn't it be sweet?", said No. 2.

"Never say die"


I brought my new "medicine" with the label covered in black paper to office to do a blind fold test with my staff. Sighhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

The result was just as disapponting... no peach fragrances, 8/10 people feedbeak it smell like medicine... "nice medicine bottle, the Japanese are really good, even the bottle look different." one of them would say ... In my heart, I was saying "It is not even Japanese... it's italian."

And the worst, this "medicine" costed me S$50 (3000 yen). Hopefully, when I do my ink test, it will give me better satisfaction.

This is HOP signing out.

Oh! Don't forget our appointment at the HOP(e)marketplace on Oct 16 2009 9am. Bye for now!

Rumours, Rumours ... Market place coming your way

Many thanks to all our local collectors who had sent their collection to us for posting on our upcoming market place to find a suitable home for their fountain pens. We will start posting them on Oct 16, 2009. Do visit our market place to find the missing piece for your collection.

Not able to find what you are looking for, drop us an email and we will help you with your request.

Beautiful pen from beautiful island Yakushima

Earlier in 2009, we wrote about Sailor using the woods from the tree grown from a mystery island - Yukashima. In that blog, we mentioned another pen manufacturer also used the same material to make pens at about 1/3 of the Sailor retail price. Did you mange to guess the pen manufactuer?

Platinum had been using the natural cedar wood from tree grown from Yukshima much earlier than Sailor. This trees are regard as National Treasure of Japan. Some of the trees are thousand of years old.

Since they are natianal treasure, the materials are taken from fallen tree, and not cut down purposefully to make the pen. No trees was "hurt" while making the pens. :-)

What is so magnificant about this cedar woods?

This wood are well known for it age but also it colour, beautiful gain and it light weight.

While both pen makers used the same materials from trees grown in Yakushima island, their pen price are miles apart. The price of Sailor is about 3x of Platinum. And their look is also very different.

The main diferent for that big price different is due to the fact that both pen makers uses different part of tree. What? You might think a piece of wood is a piece of wood, regardless whether you used the top or bottom part of the price.

Inky ... Many faces of Pelikan

After we completed our first budget color ink collection, we went out hunting for differnt Pelikan ink bottle. We feel it is pretty cool to have a display at our home a past, present and future of Pelikan ink bottle.

Pelikan is one of the popular and commonly used ink in the market. We manage to get the ink bottle from yesteryear and took a few pictures.

Here it is ... enjoy!


As one can see from the pictures, Pelikan is not very creative...